Posted by on Feb 28, 2011 in Marketing | 3 comments

I got the nicest note from a prospect (now a client) after our first meeting.  He said:

I found the information shared very valuable and very easy to understand. Most folks try to wow us with technical barb and it becomes so confusing… you guys did not (thanks)

As a former school teacher, I was trained to break complex concepts into smaller, easy to understand elements. It seems that skill is an asset in my marketing consulting sessions as well.

Too often subject matter experts think they have to impress their prospects with their knowledge, and instead make them feel uncomfortable.  Why would someone want to hang around you if you make them feel uncomfortable?

We often encourage engineers and technical people to “dumb down” their writing.   Why?  It is easier to grasp the important concepts it the language is simple, clear, and direct.  Even the New York Times and Wall Street Journal write on an 8th grade reading level.

So what about you?  Are you so busy sounding smart that you are running off prospects.  Or are you taking the time, to simplify your messages to make customers feel comfortable talking to you?

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  • http://www.slaughterdevelopment.com/ Robby Slaughter

    It’s the truth! If your customers were already experts in the service you provide, why would they need you?

    Your purpose is both to do complex work AND ALSO to explain your complex work in simple terms. As Nobel-Prize winner Irving Langmuir once said: “Any ‘scientist’ who can’t explain his work to a 12-year old is a charlatan.” People who can tell us what we need to know are the most impressive of all.

    In that case, they don’t underwhelm us—they give us just what are ready to hear!

  • http://twitter.com/coleifornia Cole Farrell

    It’s so difficult to find a balance between saying enough and not saying too much. I know I felt this pressure while teaching college-level public speaking courses: the urge to share every little thing I know. Although semesters are considerably longer than a single meeting, it always feels like there isn’t enough time to share all the information you want to share.

    It’s important to remember that it is rarely ever our job to share every bit of knowledge we have, but it’s generally better to use what we know to start a continued conversation. Thanks for the reminder that sometimes it’s better to underwhelm.

  • http://www.lorraineball.com Lorraine Ball

    Cole,
    I have always felt that great speakers can make their point in five minutes, and average ones need 15. Knowing how to boil it down is not easy, but people learn more when the are motivated to ask questions

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